They were living the American Dream in Lynchburg, Virginia.   Ken and MaryAnn Kraft married young, had children, and worked tirelessly to achieve their dreams.  Two sons, four grandchildren, a beautiful home and two years from retiring; they had it all.

Then Cancer.  Gall Bladder cancer.  Very rare and at stage 4, deadly.  They fought hard like they had through every other challenge.  Oncologists and cancer centers, chemo and immunotherapy, sickness and weight loss, and overwhelming fear.  It took 6 months for cancer to claim her victim, and MaryAnn Kraft died on April 7, 2023 at 4:15 am. She was as brave as she was beautiful.

Because MaryAnn’s sister died of cancer 5 years prior, Ken and MaryAnn were already working with the American Cancer Society.  Men Wear Pink, Swing Fore a Cure, Cattle Baron’s Ball board member, and Virginia Area Board Member positions were their way of giving back.  The connections help.

How do you get through a single day when your heart was just ripped out?  When you feel like you died right alongside her?  How do you tell people you’re fine when you’re not?  How do you live and survive in parallel universes, between your daily existence and hanging on to the memories of what was?  Why are you still here?

Ken Kraft has turned his loss and grief into a voice of Hope for himself and others seeking answers and strength.  Even in great tragedies God uses us to show His love and power.  Ken is a testament to the power of love and the healing of Hope, and his story of pain, loss, and redemption will show that it is possible to rise again and live with great compassion.  Ken is a fierce cancer fighter and speaker and would love to share his powerful story with you.